


Double or Nothing

by NamelesslyNightlock



Series: Going Down Swinging [55]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Begging, Bittersweet, Clones, Desperation, Doppelganger, Feels, Fluff, Fluffy Ending, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Kidnapping, Kissing, Loki (Marvel) Feels, M/M, Minor Character Death, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Pining, Pining Loki (Marvel), Sacrifice, Self-Sacrifice, Surprise Kissing, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23820079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock
Summary: It didn’t take long for Loki to realise that there was something very wrong with his fellow Revenger– because there was no possible way that therealTony Stark would ever want to kiss him.
Relationships: Loki/Tony Stark
Series: Going Down Swinging [55]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1330490
Comments: 49
Kudos: 450





	Double or Nothing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [STARSdidathing](https://archiveofourown.org/users/STARSdidathing/gifts).



> Thanks Stars for the start of the idea for this one– and then the rest of it was inspired by an episode of Doctor Who.  
>   
>  **Prompt** — _“Just smile. I really need you to smile right now.”_

There was something wrong with Tony, Loki knew it.

None of the others seemed to think so– Loki watched during dinner as all of the other Revengers engaged in the usual jovial conversation, not one of them noticing the worry that Loki was feeling. They laughed and drank and ate and shared stories of the day they’d had in the market on the planet they were currently visiting, each of them having gone their own way for the afternoon. But as Loki listened, he realised that Tony wasn’t sharing any information about what he had done, instead only reacting to what the others were saying.

When they had all set off earlier that day, Loki had hoped that he could spend the time with Tony. They usually did, when the team split like this, finding that their sense of humour matched well and made an otherwise dry day of shopping and exploring far more enjoyable. (Of course, Loki knew he would find any kind of activity more enjoyable, if he had Tony by his side.) But before Loki could even ask, Tony had walked away briskly on his own, with a purpose that he hadn’t cared to disclose.

And when he had come back, he was… different.

Loki couldn’t say exactly how, for he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. It wasn’t the way that Tony looked, for he appeared exactly as normal. His voice was the same, as was the way he accompanied his words with wild gestures of his hands. There was just something subtle in the way he spoke to the others, in the way that he spoke to _Loki_ that didn’t seem quite right.

“Tony,” Loki said, cutting through the middle of the conversation, just unable to stay quiet any longer when the feeling of _wrongness_ was itching under his skin. “Would you mind speaking with me for a moment? In private?”

Tony grinned brightly, and there was not a touch of complaint as he stood from the table. “Of course,” he said. “Lead the way.”

The others were complaining about Loki stealing Tony from the table, ruining the fun they were having– but Loki did not care. His whole attention was on Tony, and the way that he smiled so _sweetly_ the moment they were alone. He was just… _wrong_.

Loki paused in the corridor, not wanting to waste any more time than he needed to.

“Tony,” Loki said, deciding to breach the topic slowly. “What was it that you did today, in the market?”

Tony’s expression hardened just a little. “Weren’t you listening?” he asked. “We were all talking about—”

“I was listening,” Loki interrupted. “But you never once gave details of _your_ day. You only responded to the others.”

Tony shook his head slightly, as if wanting to deny it but knowing that Loki was right.

“Tony,” Loki said again, the name tasting bitter and false rather than the usual smooth way it would fall from his lips. “Tell me. What did you do today? Where did you go?”

“Why are you asking me all of these questions? You’re not usually so interested—”

“Usually, I go with you,” Loki countered. “Do you _remember_ that?”

Something panicked entered Tony’s eyes then, and his lips parted– but rather than saying something he suddenly surged forward, crushing his lips to Loki’s and kissing with a violent passion. Loki gasped into it, suddenly assaulted by a thousand thousand feelings that he had worked so hard to hide. Tony pressed even closer, one hand burying in Loki’s hair as the other slipped under Loki’s shirt to run over bare skin, leaving a trail of fire everywhere he touched. Tony pressed Loki against the wall, aligning their bodies in a way that made Loki groan—

Then Loki pushed against Tony’s chest, breaking the kiss and shoving him back across the narrow corridor, slamming him into the wall opposite. 

“I knew it,” Loki snarled, pressing against Tony’s shoulders harder than he ever would have dared, had this been the _real Tony_ , the one that Loki cared for. “I knew there was something wrong!”

“What the _hell_ ,” Tony snapped, struggling against Loki in vain. “Loki, let me go—”

“No,” Loki spat. “Where is Tony? What did you do with him?”

“What are you talking about? I _am_ Tony,” the… the _double_ complained. “Loki, come on, you know it’s me. I’m Tony—”

“You’re not,” Loki said, his voice still harsh and sure. “I know it.”

“How can you?”

Hearing those words in _Tony’s_ voice was almost too much to bear, but Loki grit his teeth against even the thought of giving in. 

“Come on,” Loki said, harshly grabbing the thing’s arm and dragging it back toward the mess– toward the others.

“No,” the false Tony was begging, _pleading_. “Loki, please, I’m your friend—”

“No,” Loki snapped. “You’re not.”

The double’s pained gasp was drowned out as Loki pulled him through the door, and the others all turned to stare.

“This is not Tony,” Loki told them, shoving the fake before him. “Something must have happened today, Tony has been taken from us. We need to go and get him back.”

The fake was still pleading, turning his attention to the others, now– but Loki knew that he was _not_ Tony, and he held firm.

For a moment, it was as if the room had frozen, the three other occupants all frowning and turning to look at the fake with varying expressions of disbelief. Bruce especially appeared to be completely horrified, though whether that was due to his belief in Loki’s claim or in the fact that Loki had made in the first place was unclear. To be honest, Loki was expecting a fight from the others. But, then—

“Brother,” Thor said, his voice low. “Are you sure?”

There was something heavy in his tone, something that made Loki pause before he gave his answer. Unlike the others, who _all_ seemed to be staring at not-Tony in an attempt to form their own opinion, Thor was watching _Loki_ , as if his word was all that was needed to be certain.

Loki sighed, realising what that must mean. Thor, after all, knew Loki better than anyone else. Loki supposed he shouldn’t be surprised that his brother had worked out the depth of his feelings for Tony. Usually, he would have felt alarmed that Thor had been able to read him so easily, and embarrassed that Thor knew the hopelessness of his pathetic situation– but in that moment, he could only be glad, for it helped his cause.

“I am,” Loki said firmly. “This is a doppelgänger of some kind– Tony, the _real Tony,_ must be back out there somewhere. We must find him.”

Thankfully, Thor did not need any more convincing than that– and with Thor convinced, the others were willing to follow. Bruce’s stare had turned into something piercing, and Loki knew that Bruce also believed Loki’s claim. And while Valkyrie didn’t appear swayed herself, she also didn’t look to be about to argue, especially not when a biometric scan revealed the truth. 

So then, despite the way that the doppelgänger protested, they dragged him with them as they set out to search the planet.

—

Four hours later – at least six hours since Tony had been taken – they were still searching the market, looking for any clue of what could have happened to Tony. With every passing moment the ache in Loki’s chest grew more pronounced, the worry worsening as his mind began to think of increasingly terrible scenarios that Tony might have had to suffer through.

But it seemed that Loki was not the only one hurting, for the more they searched, the more despondent Tony’s clone became.

At first, Loki was glad for it, because it meant that he did not have to listen to the creature speak in Tony’s voice. But as time went on, it too became worrying, because as it stood the clone was thus far their only lead—

 _Wait a minute_.

The clone had pretended to be Tony and had fought to convince them that he was _real_ – until Loki had convinced the others that he wasn’t. There had been no sudden crisis of identity– the moment he realised there was no point in continuing to fight the clone had simply stopped, and it was clear that he had known he was a clone all along.

And if the clone knew _that_ , then maybe… he knew where Tony was.

Of course, it was going to need some careful manipulation, but going by the way that the clone still stared at Loki with open longing, Loki was sure that it would not be difficult to get what he wanted.

Loki gave Thor a quick rundown on his plan, and on what he _suspected_ would be the best course of action. Thor agreed almost immediately, keen to try anything they could as they all began to run low on hope– and he led the others away so that Loki could once again speak to the clone alone.

“Tony,” Loki said, trying to keep his voice gentle and affectionate as he spoke the name that belonged to someone else. “I need to ask you something.”

“I thought you said that I’m _not_ Tony,” the clone muttered.

“You’re not _him_ ,” Loki agreed– but then, as the clone’s shoulders slumped, Loki hesitantly continued. “But… I think you might still be your own person. Am I wrong?”

“I think you’ve already worked out that’s not the case,” the clone said sadly– and he looked so downtrodden that Loki almost felt sorry for him.

Shaking the thought away, he focused on the task at hand.

“You think, and you feel,” Loki said. “What else is there?”

The clone blinked, his lips pulling apart slightly in surprised hope– but then he shook his head. “You don’t really think that,” he said cautiously. “You… you may not believe me, but I _do_ know you, Loki. I know when you’re manipulating.”

“It doesn’t make it any less true,” Loki tried.

“Perhaps,” the clone said. “But I would prefer you to actually _believe_ it, rather than just telling me what you want to hear.” He closed his eyes for a moment, and sighed heavily. “Just tell me what you want,” he said, that familiar brown gaze locking with Loki’s. “And I shall tell you whether or not I can do it.”

It seemed too easy, but Loki wasn’t about to waste a chance. “Do you remember where… you came from?” Loki asked. “For you to be such an exact copy, they must have built you from Tony himself. So if you take me to where you came from, then maybe I’ll be able to find Tony.”

“Your _real_ Tony,” the clone muttered.

Loki reached out to take both of the clone’s hands in his– realising as he did so that even though the clone didn’t have the callouses Loki was used to feeling, the way he gripped Loki’s hands was exactly the same. And then, staring into those brown eyes that looked right back with all the emotion Loki had wished to see in them for so very long, he whispered– “Tony… please.”

There was something pained in the clone’s expression as he stared at Loki, that ever present longing burning deep. But Loki stayed firm and held his gaze, refusing to be moved by this… _person_ who had taken Tony’s place.

Then the clone sighed heavily, his expression softening– and when he next spoke, his voice ached with the kind of acceptance Loki knew all too well.

“I will take you to the people who made me,” the clone said. “They still have my… your friend. They are keeping him alive.”

“Truly?” Loki breathed, _finally_ feeling some hope. 

“Yes,” the clone said, his smile so very sad. “Loki, for you… I would do anything.”

—

Even though it was easy to tell that the clone wanted to drag it out, he led them to a warehouse on the edge of town, away from the market and closer to where the dirtier trades took place, such as tanning and smithing. 

The Revengers were met with resistance, but the mercenaries inside were no match for the combined power of Thor, Valkyrie, and the Hulk. Loki and the clone left them to it as they ran through the facility, the clone grabbing Loki by the hand to lead him to a room in the back. They met a few more mercenaries along the way – Loki cut them down with ease – and then they broke through a door and into a room that appeared to be some kind of cross between a medical facility and a lab.

And there, finally, was Tony.

He was strapped to a bed that was angled almost upright, an IV in his arm and a metal contraption on his head that looked to be either taking readings from or sending signals to Tony’s brain. Loki rushed to him immediately—

Only to hurtle to a standstill as a man stepped between Loki and his goal, a large weapon held in his hands. He was wearing flamboyant clothes, heavy jewellery and colourful makeup– the kind of finery that Loki had seen on Sakaar. And suddenly, what had happened became obvious– Tony was not the intended target. The mercenaries had been hired not to protect but to _attack_ , and this man was likely an agent of the Grandmaster, sent for revenge against the Revengers, the ones who had caused him trouble and stolen his champion to boot.

The man was shaking, breathing heavily, but his grip on the weapon was steady. Loki shifted his already bloody knives in his hands.

“Get out of my way,” he growled.

“No,” the man snapped.

“I would do as he says,” the clone advised. “He’s not the kind of guy to make empty threats.”

“Traitor,” the man spat, his eyes on the clone. “You were supposed to get information, not lead them here! You have betrayed your people—”

“No,” The clone said, his gaze hardening. “You made me too well.”

“What is that supposed to—” the man’s voice cut off with a gurgle, and Loki pulled his blade from the man’s back with a wet squelch. He let the illusion he had left beside the clone flicker away as he watched him fall.

“They’re not the only ones who can make doubles,” Loki muttered, already turning back toward Tony, reaching out toward the straps—

“ _Wait,”_ the clone cried, grabbing Loki’s arm.

“Let go immediately,” Loki said dangerously. “You just saw what happens to anyone who gets in my way.” 

“Just think about it, Loki, are you sure this is what you want?” the clone asked.

Loki’s lips parted, the snappish reply already on the tip of his tongue– but the clone was not done.

“I know you care for him,” the clone whispered. “But… what about me? _You_ know that _I_ care for you. Isn’t that something you want?”

“You’re not Tony,” Loki said, shaking his head.

The clone swallowed. “You said I was my own person—” 

“But you’re not _him_ ,” Loki said. “You have all of his memories, but you’re not…” he trailed off, his gaze turning back to Tony, not able to look away for long.

“Please,” the clone begged. “I would love you, Loki, the way that you said he _wouldn’t_. I _do_ love you, I always will. I can give you everything you want, everything he _won’t_ – but if you wake him, that will never be possible. _Please_. I know that I can make you happy.”

Loki found himself hesitating for a moment, because oh, it was _so_ tempting. To be able to hold Tony in his arms, to kiss him and to love him and be loved in return…

In a way, it sounded like everything Loki had ever dreamed of, everything that he yearned for– except, the clone would never be _Tony_. The hesitation truly did last only a moment, because the man that Loki truly _loved_ was lying on that bed, and Loki knew that no other would ever be able to measure up.

“I’m sorry,” Loki whispered, tearing his gaze from his love to meet the clone’s eyes, knowing he deserved that much, at least. “But I don’t think that you can, because it doesn’t matter that you share his DNA and his memories. You’re still not Tony Stark, and I could never love you the way that I love him– especially not when your very existence is causing him harm. He is a good person, and he deserves to live more than any of us. I will not see him wither away like _this_.”

The clone’s expression broke, and Loki saw the exact moment that his heart shattered to pieces.

“Loki, please,” the clone whispered. “I should have betrayed you, but I didn’t. You’re all I have to live for.”

Loki closed his eyes and drew in a breath, but he knew that it would not change his answer. “You shouldn’t be alive in the first place,” he whispered. “You’ll find something else.”

“I won’t,” the clone said, his voice little more than a breath of wind, pained and broken.

Still, Loki did not turn. He leaned forward, his fingers trembling as he _finally_ reached out to touch Tony, cupping his cheeks below the metal contraption. Then, his hands still shaking, he tore the machine from Tony’s head.

There was a small, pained cry from behind him but in that moment Tony woke with a loud, jerking gasp, and Loki stroked his cheeks and hair with desperate relief. Tony’s breathing was too fast, coming in harsh gasps. Loki hushed him, whispering comforting words as he used his seiðr to pull Tony from the bed– and then he held him in his arms, the pair of them sinking to their knees and pressing together as close as they could.

“You’re all right,” Loki whispered. “I’m here, everything is going to be fine.”

“Loki,” Tony whispered, clinging to his shirt and burying his face in Loki’s shoulder. “There was… they had this thing, they made a _copy_ of me—”

“I know, it’s all right, you’re safe,” Loki crooned, gently rocking back and forth. “It has all been dealt with, you don’t have to worry about a thing.”

They remained in their embrace for as long as it took Tony to calm, his breathing evening out. Talking seemed to help, and he told Loki all that he could remember– he had been looking for a forge so he could build something that wasn’t possible on the ship, and he had been knocked unconscious. They had taken some of his blood and used his DNA as well the machine that allowed the clone access to his memories to create the double– and then as far as he could tell, Tony had been in a coma until Loki had come to find him.

“What happened to the clone?” Tony asked curiously.

“Well, he’s here,” Loki said, turning to find him, his lips already half forming an introduction– but then the words were lost on his tongue when he saw that the clone was lying on the ground, clutching his chest while his breaths came in rough gasps.

Loki was moving before he had fully thought about it – not letting go of Tony entirely, not able to do so after such a scare, but pulling him across the room until they were both kneeling at the clone’s side.

“What’s wrong?” Loki asked, reaching out but not touching. “What happened to you?”

“Nothing that needs worrying about,” the clone replied– and even such a simple sentence caused him to cough before he could continue, his skin turning so pale as to be almost grey, as if he were wasting away before Loki’s eyes. “The connection with _him_ was keeping me alive,” he explained. “When it was ruptured, my life force was disconnected along with it.”

The words stung, because– in a way, that meant _Loki_ had killed him. He knew that he shouldn’t care, that this construct shouldn’t be alive in the first place. But somewhere along the way, Loki had come to actually see the truth in his own words, and he realised that… the clone was a copy of Tony, yes, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a _real person_.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Loki asked. “Why didn’t you stop me when I—”

“Because I did not wish to make your decision any more difficult than it needed to be.” The clone offered him a watery smile. “You made the _right_ choice, and I shouldn’t have... you’re right. I am not even supposed to be here. And I’m glad for what time I did have, stolen as it was.”

Loki shook his head, not knowing what to say.

He didn’t know what he was feeling, because– he knew that, even with this information, he still would have made the same choice. The clone knew it too, and that was why he hadn’t told him.

“It’s okay,” the clone whispered, his voice weak. “Loki, it’s okay. You’re going to be happy. I was created to do terrible things, and I’m… I’m _glad_ , that in the end, maybe my existence has done something good.”

“No, there has to be _something_ I can do,” Loki said, his hands trembling as he thought to begin to call on his seiðr.

“Just… smile?” The words were hardly more than a breath of air, but they stopped Loki in his tracks. “I really need you to smile right now.”

Loki wasn’t sure that he could, but he gave it his best try as he whispered, “I’m so sorry, Tony.”

“Tony,” the clone sighed, his eyes falling closed, Loki’s smile the last thing that he would ever see. “That’s someone else’s name.”

Then he let out a final, shuddering breath before he stilled forever.

Loki felt a soft hand on his shoulder, and he turned to see Tony looking down at his clone with an odd kind of expression.

“He really was like me, wasn’t he?” Tony asked, his voice quiet.

“I suppose so,” Loki whispered. “Sacrificing himself so someone he didn’t even know could live happily.”

“No, Loki,” Tony said. “He didn’t sacrifice himself for me. He did it for _you_.”

There was no arguing, Loki knew that it was true. And for some reason, that hurt more than it should have– and yet there was something else underneath Tony’s hurt that Loki didn’t have the time to examine, because in that moment, the door crashed open to admit Thor, Valkyrie, and a rather scantily clad Bruce.

They moved slowly as they all came around the clone, and Loki was just barely able to keep his voice level as he explained. He knew that he wouldn’t have managed at all, if he hadn’t had Tony by his side through it. He still did not know why it had hit him so hard– he had seen so much death, and he had only known the clone for a few hours.

And besides, the clone hadn’t much life to begin with. After a quick inspection using the tools in the lab, Bruce confirmed that the clone likely would not have survived long anyway, his body hastily constructed– all that had been holding him together was his connection to Tony, and clearly, there was no choice between the two in that scenario.

The clone had been sentient, a thinking and feeling being with his own wants and desires. Even if he was just a copy, created in a lab and designed to only live a few days… he really _had_ been his own person, hadn’t he?

Tony must have realised that Loki was feeling a bit strange, because despite how exhausted he must have been he followed Loki into his quarters when they arrived back at the ship. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to– the gentle, sympathetic look in his eyes was enough to make Loki crack where nothing else had.

“It was my fault,” Loki said, sitting heavily on his bed.

“How on Earth do you figure that?” Tony asked, sitting down beside him, though not so close that they were touching. “Or not on _Earth_ , I guess, since we’re—”

“Because he said that he loved me,” Loki said harshly. “And I know that you do not. I know that he was created as a manipulation, designed to ensnare _me_. Do not worry, I know that what he did wasn’t a reflection of the way you feel– which proves that if it were not for me, then this never would have happened in the first place.”

“Okay,” Tony said slowly. “There is so much wrong in what you just said that I don’t even know where to start, but how about… with the fact that they created that clone after they caught me. They just wanted a Revenger, it could have been any of us. And second of all– that clone wasn’t designed to ensnare _you_. It was meant to get close to the whole team, remember?”

“Yes,” Loki replied stiffly. “But he must have realised that it would be easier to get to me, because—” Loki cut himself off, looking away.

“Loki,” Tony said. “You know that clone was based on my DNA, and it had _my memories_. All it knew of the world was what it had seen through my eyes.”

“I know,” Loki said, raking a hand through his hair in frustration. He should have kept his mouth shut. No matter what he did now, he would only be digging a deeper hole. “But he must have… been using emotional manipulation. He _saw_ how I– he _knew_ , and he used it—”

“No, Lokes,” Tony said. “He was drawing off _my_ emotions, don’t you see?”

Loki’s breath drew in with a sharp exhale, because there was only one thing Tony could mean. But that… was _impossible_. Wasn’t it?

“Tony,” Loki whispered, scarcely able to believe. “You…”

Tony reached out slowly, hesitantly, his fingers brushing lightly over Loki’s cheeks.

“He loved you because _I_ do,” Tony breathed. “And I promise that what I feel is not a copy of anything– this is me, this is _real_ , and it’s not going to go away any time soon. I want to be with you, Loki, if… you’ll have me.”

“Tony,” Loki said, a smile curving along the line of his lips as he leaned forward. “Of course I will.”

It was nothing like the forced kiss that the clone had started in an effort to distract Loki from his suspicions– this was slow and gentle, and it felt like everything Loki had ever wanted.

“I never thought you liked me back,” Tony whispered. “Not until…”

“I know,” Loki replied. He drew Tony into his arms, touching a kiss to the top of his head and basking in the knowledge that Tony _did_ love him, that something so very good lay right within his grasp. “But I do,” he said. “I love you, too.”

Both too tired and too worn to do anything more than hold each other, they curled together on Tony’s bed, lips skimming over bare skin in almost kisses that felt just as perfect as the real thing. And just before Loki slipped into a peaceful rest, he remembered what the clone had said, just before he had died.

 _You’re going to be happy_.

And maybe, Loki thought, with Tony in his arms… there was a chance that he would be.


End file.
